Polls Put Macron and Le Pen Nearly Neck-and-Neck For Sunday’s Vote
Opinion polling released just days before Sunday’s French presidential second round vote has put little distance between President Emmanuel Macron and populist challenger Marine Le Pen.
A poll released Thursday by the firm Odoxa has Macron and Le Pen just three percentage points apart, with Macron receiving 53 per cent in the polling and Le Pen receiving 47 per cent.
Meanwhile, Marine Le Pen should be able to count on around 80 per cent of those who voted for conservative writer and pundit Eric Zemmour.
The leftist leaders of Germany, Spain, and Portugal have written an open letter calling on the French public to back incumbent President Emmanuel Macron against his populist challenger in Sunday’s elections, Marine Le Pen.
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While the debate was viewed by some as having no clear winner, it was seen as a satisfying result for Le Pen, whose debate performance during the second round of the presidential election in 2017 was viewed by many as a disaster.
Another poll after the debate showed six in ten French were supportive of Le Pen’s proposal to ban the Islamic veil in public spaces, a policy Macron came out strongly against, arguing a ban would have to be given to all religious symbols.
Marion Marechal Calls For United Right Coalition For French Parliament Electionshttps://t.co/veZQJEeDQ5
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A path to victory for Le Pen could emerge due to the large number of voters claiming they will abstain from voting entirely, with the Odoxa poll noting that the number of people refusing to vote, leaving their voting card blank, or spoiling their ballot could reach record numbers.
“I think it’ll be closer than expected. If Macron wins there will be queries around vote-rigging — right or wrong — because the people do not trust politicians who are seen as the global elite, [and] Macron is certainly one of them,” Atkinson said.
Le Pen Pushes Faltering Macron In Debate on Immigration, Islamism and Economyhttps://t.co/xIhWQMXdNy
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“If it’s a low turnout, if those that voted for Macron last time but now find him unpalatable do not vote, the Zemmour and Dupont-Aignan vote goes to Marine and some of Les Republicans vote goes to her, she could do it,” Atkinson added.
The failed candidate for Les Republicains — France’s establishment centre-right party, roughly equivalent to Britain’s Conservatives or America’s Republicans — urged her supporters to vote for Macron, however.
Should Le Pen pull off an upset victory on Sunday, she would still face challenges in the parliamentary elections, which are set to take place in June.
Marion Marechal, the niece of Le Pen and a vice-president of Eric Zemmour’s political party Reconquest, has suggested Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) and other conservatives form a united right-wing coalition to either help Le Pen govern in case of victory or to hinder Macron if he is re-elected.
Marine Le Pen Calls For ‘Referendum Revolution’ To Hand Power Back To The Peoplehttps://t.co/1NQOpHU4nf
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